Dave Darrin's Second Year at Annapolis eBook

It was now only the day after the events whose narration
closed the preceding volume.

Dave Darrin and Dalzell were first of all brought
to notice in “Thehighschoolboys’ series.” In their
High School days, back in Gridley, these two had been
famous members of Dick & Co., a sextette of youngsters
who had made a name for themselves in school athletics.

Dick Prescott and Greg Holmes, two other members of
the sextette, had been appointed to the United States
Military Academy at West Point, where they were serving
in the corps of cadets and learning how to become
Army officers in the not far distant future. All
of the adventures of Dick and Greg are set forth in
“TheWestpointseries.”

The two remaining members of famous old Dick & Co.,
Tom Reade and Harry Hazelton, became civil engineers,
and went West for their first taste of engineering
work. Tom and Harry had some wonderful and startling
adventures, as fully set forth in “Theyoungengineers’ series.”

On this early June day when we again encounter Dave
Darrin and Dan Dalzell in their handsome Naval uniforms,
all members of the first, second and third classes
were due to be aboard one of the three great battleships
that lay off the Yard at Annapolis at four p.m.

These three great battleships were the “Massachusetts,”
the “Iowa” and the “Indiana.”
These three huge, turreted fighting craft had their
full crews aboard. Not one of the battleship
commanders would allow a “jackie” ashore,
except on business, through fear that many of the
“wilder” ones might find the attractions
on shore too alluring, and fail to return in time.

With the young midshipmen it was different. These
young men were officially and actually gentlemen,
and could be trusted.

Yet here, in the back room of this laundry, was one
who was apparently not dependable.

This young midshipman’s name was Pennington,
and the fact was that he lay in deep stupor from the
effects of smoking opium!

It had been a storekeeper, with a shop across the
street, who had called the attention of Dave and his
four comrades to the probable fate of another of their
class.

“Chow Hop runs a laundry, but I have heard evil
stories about a lot of young fools who flock to his
back room and get a chance to ‘hit’ the
opium pipe,” the storekeeper had stated to Dave.
“One of your men, or at least, one in a midshipman’s
uniform, went in there at eleven o’clock this
forenoon, and he hasn’t been out since.
It is now nearly two o’clock and, I’ve
been looking for some midshipmen to inform.”

Such had been the storekeeper’s careful statement.
The merchants of Annapolis always have a kindly feeling
toward these fine young midshipmen. The storekeeper’s
purpose was to enable them to help their comrade out.

So the five had entered the laundry. The proprietor,
Chow Hop, had attempted to bar their way to the rear
room.